The goal of the feasibility study described in this proposal is to develop a wearable vibrotactile transducer for the profoundly hearing-impaired. Under a separate contract with a major medical supply company, Scott is developing a processing unit for cochlear implant users. The possibility exists that the same processing unit can be used as the basis for a wearable vibrotactile aid. This grant will support the research necessary to determine the feasibility of that adaptation. The major effort will be placed on the design of a low power wearable transducer array. The Principal Investigator has been working in the area of vibrotactile aids for the deaf since 1973. Recently completed studies with a portable, but not wearable, aid with deaf children indicated the efficacy of vibrotactile stimulation as a teaching aid but definitely indicated the need for a cosmetically acceptable, wearable unit. Additional studies with profoundly deaf adults also strongly indicate the need for a wearable device.